


The Gambler

by TeekiJane



Series: The Boys of Summer [1]
Category: Baby-Sitters Club - Ann M. Martin
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-20
Updated: 2013-08-20
Packaged: 2017-12-24 03:16:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/934656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeekiJane/pseuds/TeekiJane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Margo wins a bet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Gambler

_He said, “Son, I’ve made a life_  
_Out of readin’ people’s faces_  
_Knowin’ what the cards were_  
_By the way they held their eyes"  
_ Kenny Rogers, The Gambler 

**Margo**

I knew something was up the day my brothers and Vanessa got back from spring break. Let me state for the record that I plan to have a much cooler road trip when _I_ am a senior. Me and Karen are already planning it. It’s going to be awesome.

Though I guess their trip was pretty cool, too. The first thing I noticed was that Jordan came back with a girlfriend. Everything to come out of his mouth since then has been _Haley this_ and _Haley that_. He was pretty boring before, but he’s really super boring now.

But the real difference has been with Byron. He’s always been really easy to tease because he takes everything way too seriously. He thinks way too much. You also have to watch what you say and do around him because he is a worse tattle-tale than my sister Claire, and she’s in _middle school._

Ever since they came back, though, Byron’s been kinda cooler than normal. He jokes back with you when you mess with him, and he’s come out of narc mode—sometimes. He still ratted when he caught Claire with cigarettes, but he didn’t say a word when I came in after curfew.

One day, maybe a week or two after spring break, Karen and I decided we needed to go to the mall. Jordan and Adam were at a baseball game at school. Mom and Dad were at work. No one was free at Karen’s house, so Byron was the only driver left. I went to the room he shares with Nick to butter him up.

Vanessa had taken her camera’s memory card to the drug store the day before and had come home with a thick envelop full of pictures. She, the triplets, and Haley had spent a few hours sorting photos and exclaiming over them. Byron in particular had come away with a huge pile of pictures and said he was going to spend the afternoon framing them.

When I knocked on the door, though, Nick answered. He was alone in the room, reading some weird sci-fi book. Pretty normal Nick.

“Seen Byron?”

He shook his head. “He went down to the basement to find frames in the junk room. He’s been gone a while.” Nick went back to his book and ignored me.

I sat down on Nick’s bed and bounced for a while. I might as well have been alone, for all Nick noticed.

A few minutes later, Byron came back up with a pile of dirty old picture frames. “Oh, hey Margo,” he said cheerfully. “I was thinking of decorating these old frames so they match. You have an artistic eye. Any ideas?”

I looked over the drab old frames, a mishmash of colors, shapes and sizes. “Buy some colorful stickers and cover them so you can’t see the original background,” I suggested.

Byron nodded. “Not bad,” he replied. He picked up the largest frame and pulled out the glass and the mat. Dusting everything off, Byron pulled out an eight by ten photo from the trip.

I was surprised. All the other pictures I had seen from this batch had been four by six. Adjusting the glass and mat back into the frame, he took the photo and taped it into place. When the frame was finished, Byron lifted it up and gazed upon it happily and then he set the hideous, ostentatious puce colored frame down on his bedside table so it was aimed at his pillow.

When he picked up the next frame and began cleaning it, I jumped off Nick’s bed and sat down next to Byron’s pillow. I picked up the frame and inspected it. It was Byron and his friend Jeff, posing in front of the ocean. Byron’s arms were around Jeff, and Jeff was resting his cheek on Byron’s temple.

I looked from the photo to Byron and back. “You and Jeff?” I asked.

He didn’t look up. “Yup.”

I pressed on. “Are you, like, a couple?”

Byron looked at me over his project. “Is he my boyfriend? No. Have we kissed and stuff? Sure.” It was all very casual. Very nonchalant.

“So, you’re gay then?”

“Yup.” Byron looked up at me and then Nick, waiting to see how we responded. 

I think we surprised him. I reached over to Nick, hand out, palm up. “Pay up!” I demanded.

Byron’s eyes went wide and his face went crimson. “What in the world is going on here?” he asked.

I grinned. “I made a bet with Nick that you’d come out one day.”

He raised an eyebrow at me. “And how long ago was this?”

I shrugged. Nick put his book down and spoke up. “I dunno. Maybe a year? Maybe closer to two.” He pulled a twenty out of his wallet and plopped it, grudgingly, into my hand.

I couldn’t tell if Byron was irritated or amused. “Twenty bucks? Is that all I’m worth to you two?” Nick and I looked at each other, not sure how to respond. Before we could reply, Byron started to laugh. “I gotta ask, Nick, why you bet I was straight,” he said as he chuckled.

Nick had picked his book back up but hadn’t opened it yet. “You’re not exactly the flamboyant type,” he replied, and then he started reading.

Byron and I looked at each other and he shook his head. Nick is such a space cadet some times. I smiled back at him and he put a framed picture of the triplets next to his giant photo of Jeff. He stopped when he saw that smile, as if it had just occurred to him that I was actually voluntarily sitting on his bed. “Did you come in for something, Margo?” he asked.

“Yeah. Can me and Karen get a ride to the mall?”

Byron sighed and rolled his eyes. “I guess so, as long as Karen can find you a ride home.”

He gathered his car keys and we headed down to the stairs. The Civic was parked out on the curb, but Byron stopped outside the front door. “Margo?”

I nearly ran into him. “What?”

“Do me a favor, okay? I’m still coming out, so not everyone knows yet. Can you keep it to yourself a bit? I don’t mind if you tell, say, a couple friends, but I haven’t told Mom and Dad, or Mal or Claire. And I’d prefer if they found out from me, rather than you or someone else. Got it?”

I grinned at him. “I think that picture by your bed is going to give everyone all the information they need,” I teased.

“Still. Don’t tell anyone in the family, and make sure that if you do tell Karen or whoever, they know not to mention it at the house?”

“No problem. It’ll be our secret for now. I’ll just use the information for blackmail purposes. Rides to the mall whenever I need them.”

Byron smiled back. “What is it with you? First gambling, then blackmail.” He shook his head. “Kids these days.”

We got in the car and drove off toward Karen’s house.


End file.
